


The golden steed

by Escritora2Aliasfox



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 05:20:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15212078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Escritora2Aliasfox/pseuds/Escritora2Aliasfox
Summary: A misterious horse roams the territories of Avonlea, lifting all shorts of rumors and being chased to no avail.Perhaps a new perspective will be needed to solve the mistery.A certain redhead's perspective.





	1. expectatives

Rachel visited Marila early in the morning to tell her the latest news. Children talked about it at school and Anne and her friends wrote about it in their little cabin in the woods:

There was a very extrange horse roaming somewhere around the woods of Avonlea. It had a peculiar look and no one knew where it came from, nor how to catch it.

“They say it is slim and sbelt, nearly like a deer… and it has golden fur! Can you possibly imagine a more beautifull steed?” Anne rambled away about it, once more.

“If it is skinny, the poor thing may be sick. Horses are not supposed to be thin”  
“But no one can catch it!” said Diana “Maybe it is a race horse”  
“But how could possibly a race horse get lost in any territory near a town like Avonlea? Can you think of one possible explanation? Such mistery… it could be a sign!”  
“A sign of what?” asked Ruby, always the last in matters of big words

“Some kind of… mistical sign! It is a golden, special looking creature that no one can catch! Maybe it would lead you to a hidden treasure? Or maybe it is an enchanted prince? Or maybe if you can catch it, you will find that its mane its made of actual gold fivers?”  
“Like in fairy tales! Oh, Ann! Normaly I have trouble finding ideas to write…”  
“But this time there seems to be too many… we must waist no longer such gift of inspiration!”

Anne opened the bottle of ink, standing over a stone in the center of the cabin, and the three girls inked theyr plumes at the same time to write stories about a unicorn in disguise, or a pegasus of invisible wings, or a fairy causing mischief…

Meanwhile, every man in town competed for the golden steed like it was actually made of gold, but the creature, still roamed free.

 

“…and it jumped over the avism and it was as if the sun itself floated in front of the beautifull lady of pure heart…” 

Marila just couldn’t see the end of it. Luckily, she was finally used to the girl’s babling, and both had managed an odd jet, productie way of working.

“And where the steed had jumped there apeared a beautifull jet, simple bridge…”  
“Anne. The plates”  
“Yes. …oh, Ruby says she coulnd’t help to imagine herself… being there and seeing the magical kingdom appear before her, with the golden steed runing into the distance”  
“Aha”  
“Oh, I said runing… I meant, galloping!”  
“I don’t see the difference”  
“Oh, but Marila, any creature can run, but only a propper horse can galop. If we are to describe such a majestuous creature, it certainly must be with such words”

Marilla finished the setting of the table and permitted herself to stand still for a moment to tell her

“Remember Anne, to diference reality from dream: You haven’t even seen this… ‘golden steed’ it may not be worth all the fuss”  
“Oh, but Marila, a creature that awakes such rumors, such passion… it certainly must be special right?”  
“Hum”  
“All my life I have fed on stories… if it could be true that some may be exagerated…”

Anne stopped talking for a moment, her eyes stuck in an invisible point in nowhere. Marila awaited pantiently. Was her beautifull heart breaking before her eyes, when realicing that her beloved stories may not be true?

“…it would sadden me to know they didn’t hapen, as I know them. But it wouldn’t change the passion that I felt when I first knew them! and it would give me some satisfaction to know that they were actually based in something real!”

…aand she was back. back to the golden steed and all of its magesty and all the beautifull possibilities it brought with it… and then, Anne turned to Mathew, who had just passed by, and asked him if he had seen the steed.

Mathew, as usual, made a ‘where can I hide’ face and denied with a gesture.

“But Mathew you must try and catch it! Even if you suspect you can’t possibly get to it, chasing him is the event of the year. Posibly the decade! The sole glimpse of this creature would be worth remembering”  
“Anne”  
“I mean, Marila, if it is just to know if it fits the rumors… They say it is easy to find! It shows up to anyone wondering the woods, it’s just hard to cat...”

If Mathew had any intention of answering, he wouldn’t have time: Anne was suddenly rigid, and runing outside.

“Oh my! I just realiced! I can try and find it! Even if I don’t, the fantasy of getting to glimpse of it in the woods would be worth trying!”

An so, Marila had to run and call her from the door, to remind her that it was lunch time and she wouldn’t be leaving without consuming her part and helping tidy up the table.  
Still, it was a fast and noisy lunch.


	2. The encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne sets of to find the steed. She just didn't expect to find it, specially not like this.

Anne’s dreams about the golden steed had to be exagerated. There was no possible chance that the creature could be by far comparable to her precarious fantasy.

She walked throgh the woods, on her tip toes, murmuring the posible poems and fairytales that could be written about it; all the way to Diana’s, who was excited by the idea, and chatting and reciting all the way they crossed the creek, and passed the cabin… 

And then, Diana suddenly stood still, tense, like a post, a hand flung to hold Anne, next to her.

“I always thougt golden was the most heave… wait, what? Diana?”

Finally Anne looked up searching in the general direction her friend was staring, and saw it.

It was a good twenty meters from them, a few trees in between, but it was impossible to miss it: the famous golden steed stood before them.

The two girls had fantacised with the view of it, but they hadn’t dared to actually find it, and less, have it meet theyr expectations. The creature was skinnier than any horse they had ever seen, with a slim neck, arched back so gracefully it did remind more of a deer than a horse. And it’s fur was not just blonde, like they had seen in some horses: it was actual bronced, shiny blonde. Golden. Darker where the shadow covered it, shiny white where the light graced it. No other word to descrive it.

They had never seen such horse nor expected it to exist, aside from in stories from far away lands. Its sight drilled Anne’s mind destroying all memory of her fantasies, for this was fantastic, and still real, and right before her eyes.

The two friends stood there, breathless, the animal staring back at them, daring not to say a word, until Anne dared try:

“Can it be real, Diana? Or is my imagination tricking me?”  
“It can’t be, Anne. I see it too”  
“…Is it as golden and gracious as I see it? As they said?”  
“Even more, I dare say. I thoug they were exagerating. But, look at it’s neck! People tide theyr horses to force them into that position, and they are still not so arched!”  
“It is looking at us. What do we do?”  
“…I don’t know. Shall we call him?”  
“No! That will for sure spook him. Many get to see it but no one could get close to catch it, right?”  
“… then what? We just wait unill it’s tired and leaves, and treasure this memory?”

Anne took a deep breath.

“We chase it”  
“But it will dissapear!”  
“It will dissapear nonetheless, might as well get a closer look before he’s gone for good”  
“…good point” sight “gently…”

And so, arm in arm, like frightened, the two girls walked up to the horse as slow as two girls can walk, ever so afraid of scaring it away.  
For a good lenght, the animal didn’t move. He stood in the same spot, looking at them, at times shaking its head, but mostly appearing rather calm, and Anne and Diana were ever so happy to have theyr wish of getting a closer look, granted.

When they were about ten meters away, however, the animal turned arround and left.  
He left slowly. Like he knew the girls couldn’t actually get him. He walked so slow, that the girls could still follow him, just adjusting a little the pace.

This walk continued for a good while, until the girls started walking a bit faster.  
The horse adjusted his peace and moved faster.  
The girls nearly tripped down, as they started runing, and the animal started a gentle trot.

Diana grew tired and realiced this was the end of it. Anne, however, didn’t give up the chase.

“He is just trotting. We can still chase after him!”  
“But Anne!”

She couldn’t stop her. She couldn’t catch her neither: Anne was runing up hill like she run when chased by danger, or when chasing herself the wind when she was so inspired by the landscape. Ann run after the now fast-trotting golden steed knowing she wouldn’t catch him, but leaving Diana behind.

Even if Diana tried, her expensive dress wouldn’t let her move through the woods that fast. She kept calling, and kept moving, but she had already lost Anne, and the golden steed.

Anne was living a dream quite literally: she had made up her mind not to stop runing untill after loosing sigh of the animal for a while, or else loosing her breath, for she wanted to say she had trully chasen after it. Meanwhile, the horse has always in sight. Far, sometimes breafly gone, but still there.

Anne was thinking now of the possibility of being transported to a different worl during this chase, having Diana to testify of her dissapearence after the horse… and so blissfull was her train of thoug she coulnd’t even understand what had happened when all of the sudden it was interrupted.

She was suddenly, hanging from the edge of a deep, wide hole on the ground. Grasping the earth for dear life, nails diging into the grass, a cry of help dessperatly thrown away.

Luckily, Diana was still runing after her.  
She arrived the clear a little later, and at first couldn’t see her, but followed her screams and soon found her hanging from the edge, and threw herself to the ground to hold her tight and off the avism.

Once she had both knees frimly grounded, Anne could only embrace fast and close her dear friend, and catch her breath, and then look around and see, her chase of the golden steed had brought her to a wide clear in the woods, covered in flowers.

Then, fearfully, the girls dared look at the hole in the ground.  
It was wide and deep and square shaped. There was no fence nor sign around. The tall grass arund and the random location in the middle of the field made it nearly invisible at first sight, and very dangerous.

They were stil catching their breath and trying to find words to the sudden thrill, when they were, once more, interrupted; by a ghostly voice calling from afar.

They listened carefully and at the second call they realiced it came from down below.

Anne and Diana knelt and held to the edge of the hole and croached down as far as they dared, and this time they heard it clearly. “HELP”

Anne saw then, far away and deep in the dirt, among the dark mud and the shadows of the deep, a pale face, calling for help.

She jumped like a resort.  
“there’s someone trapped in there. He’s fallen down the well! We need to get help Diana hurry!”  
“What do we do!?”

She held her for the shoulders for one second  
“We go back to Avonlea, green gables is closer, I’ll get help. You go home, tell them to call a doctor”  
“Oh, Anne!”

And there was no time for more words, as the two girls held hands and run fast as they could down the woods, flying over bushes and wild thorns and the creek, this time for life, all the way back to where the path split and each ran home.


End file.
